1 Samuel 15:23
1 Samuel 15:23 is the first song on the album The Life of the World to Come. Bible Verse For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king. NIV Translation Lyrics I became a crystal healer and my ministry was to the sick Creeping vines would send out runners and seek me in their numbers I sold self-help tapes Go down to the netherworld, plant grapes And as word spread of my powers they would seek me far and wide All sad faces at my window I would welcome them inside I sewed clothes for them: cloaks and capes Go down to the netherworld, plant grapes My house will be for all people who have nowhere to go My supply of shining crystals a shield against the snow There's more like me where I come from, so mark our shapes Go down to the netherworld, plant grapes Comments by John Darnielle About this Song *"'So it's a song about a faith healer?' Yeah, crystal healer, some necromancer or somebody healing in some, some, uh, witch-doctory sort of way.... The Bible and Christianity, which are two different things, uh, uh, is a number of things throughout history to a number of people and quite often, if, uh, if like me, you're a big believer in, in the social justice side of the Gospels and if you lean far left, um, you look at the history of, of what the Bible was used to do to, uh, women or, uh, anyone who, who was anywhere outside the mainstream throughout the Middle Ages, it's a bad scene, you know, and so the speaker in this is the person being attacked by First Samuel, um, and is sort of making his case and it's like, I think, you know, it's- it's a crying shame what the church did to people in the name of prosecuting witchcraft. It's a, it's a huge historical injustice, uh, that can't be redressed, and that's the thing about it, people can apologize all they want, but there's nothing you can do to bring, you know, bring justice to those people, except maybe give them a voice somehow, you know, although I'm mainly just telling a story..." -- 2009-10-05 - Soundcheck - WNYC Session - New York, NY *"This is a song about, uh, safe spaces, I think." -- 2012-09-01 - Front Porch Music Festival - Livermore, CA *"This is a true story about the time that I became a crystal healer and I ministered to all of the sick who I could find. There was no shortage of sick people, so I was a very busy crystal healer. I actually got too busy, I got tired of working double shifts, so I found a different line of work. But not before healing many people with crystals. I figure, if this dries up I can always go back to the crystals. I hear the field -- no, not crystal. No, that's a different earlier time in my life. That was not a profitable time at all, on account of I couldn't follow commandment number two, don't get high on your own supply." -- 2013-06-05 - Maxwell's - Hoboken, NJ *"This song is a more or less straight autobiographical sketch telling the story of when I studied crystal healing under the guidance of a very old man who had no name. He lived in a cave in eastern Kentucky. The water in his cave was delicious and cold. I studied with him for thirty years, and then one day he said that he couch teach me no more and that I had to share the power of the crystals with the world, by which I took him to mean that I had to work for free. I kind of wish I asked him to elaborate a little more, because you get pretty hungry working for free, and people don't ask you to heal them when you're visibly wasting away right in front of them. Anyway, the whole crystal healing business suffered a severe downturn once reiki became popular, and so I got into music instead. But in my heart I'll always be Johnny Crystal first and foremost, and I figured it was time to write a song about it. This is that song and it's all true, every last word." -- 7/29/2009 - The Life of the World to Come: a film by Rian Johnson, liner notes Things Referenced in this Song *The chorus seems to reference the Vanillaware game Odin Sphere, similarly to "Enoch 18:14". Live Shows this Song Was Played at *2009-09-18 - Ithaca College - Ithaca, NY *2009-10-05 - Soundcheck - WNYC Session *2009-10-10 - Queen Elizabeth Hall - London, England *2009-11-05 - The Metro - Chicago, IL *2009-11-07 - Cedar Cultural Centre - Minneapolis, MN *2009-11-10 - The Showbox - Seattle, WA *2009-11-15 - Henry Fonda Theater - Los Angeles, CA *2009-11-19 - Granada Theater - Dallas, TX *2009-11-20 - Mercy Lounge - Nashville, TN *2009-11-21 - Variety Playhouse - Atlanta, GA *2009-11-27 - 9:30 Club - Washington, D.C. *2009-11-29 - Wilbur Theatre - Boston, MA *2009-12-01 - Webster Hall - New York, NY *2009-12-02 - Seven Second Delay - UCB Theater - New York, NY *2010-03-11 - Memorial Union Building - University of New Hampshire - Durham, NH *2010-04-09 - San Francisco Bath House - Wellington, New Zealand *2010-04-11 - The Zoo - Brisbane, Australia *2010-04-13 - Manning Bar - Sydney, Australia *2010-04-14 - The Corner Hotel - Melbourne, Australia *2010-04-16 - Fowlers Live - Adelaide, Australia *2010-04-18 - The Rosemount Hotel - Perth, Australia *2010-05-30 - Doug Fir Lounge - Portland, OR *2010-06-01 - Dinner with the Band - Brooklyn, NY *2010-06-02 - The Rickshaw Theatre - Vancouver, British Columbia *2010-06-04 - Neurolux - Boise, ID *2010-06-05 - The Badlander - Missoula, MT *2010-06-12 - Blue Moose Tap House - Iowa City, IA *2010-06-15 - Gothic Theatre - Denver, CO *2010-06-16 - Urban Lounge - Salt Lake City, UT *2010-09-08 - Brudenell Social Club - Leeds, England *2010-09-09 - Koko - London, England *2010-10-04 - The Bottleneck - Lawrence, KS *2010-10-05 - The Blue Note - Columbia, MO *2010-10-06 - Academy of Contemporary Music @ UCO - Oklahoma City, OK *2010-10-08 - Austin City Limits Festival - Austin, TX *2012-01-21 - Tipitina's - New Orleans, LA *2012-01-24 - The Social - Orlando, FL *2012-01-28 - The EARL - Atlanta, GA *2012-02-02 - The Grey Eagle - Asheville, NC *2012-02-03 - The Blind Tiger - Greensboro, NC *2012-02-04 - The Haw River Ballroom - Saxapahaw, NC *2012-05-01 - The Bakery - Perth, Australia *2012-05-04 - The Zoo - Brisbane, Australia *2012-05-09 - The Toff in Town - Melbourne, Australia *2012-06-28 - Swedish American Hall - San Francisco, CA *2012-09-01 - Front Porch Music Festival - Livermore, CA *2012-10-09 - The National - Richmond, VA *2012-10-20 - Phoenix Concert Theatre - Toronto, Ontario *2012-10-22 - Fine Arts Center - Calvin College - Grand Rapids, MI *2012-10-26 - Blue Moose Tap House - Iowa City, IA *2013-01-25 - Judge John Hodgman Podcast - SF Sketchfest, San Francisco, CA *2013-06-03 - 9:30 Club - Washington, D.C. *2013-06-04 - Strand-Capitol Performing Arts - York, PA *2013-06-05 - Maxwell's - Hoboken, NJ *2013-06-07 - Center Church on the Green - New Haven, CT *2013-06-15 - Buskirk-Chumley Theater - Bloomington, IN *2013-06-16 - Space - Evanston, IL *2013-10-07 - St. Georges - Bristol, England *2013-10-18 - Teatre Conde Duque - Madrid, Spain *2015-09-08 - Off Broadway - St. Louis, MO *2015-09-09 - Lawrence Arts Center - Lawrence, KS *2015-11-23 - Heliogàbal - Barcelona, Spain *2016-04-03 - Columbus Theatre - Providence, RI *2017-12-14 - Holocene - Portland, OR *2018-09-05 - Cain's Ballroom - Tulsa, OK *2018-09-06 - Canton Hall - Dallas, TX *2018-09-07 - Paper Tiger - San Antonio, TX *2018-09-11 - Crescent Ballroom - Phoenix, AZ *2018-09-13 - Boulder Theater - Boulder, CO *2018-09-14 - Washington's - Fort Collins, CO *2018-11-30 - The Haw River Ballroom - Graham, NC *2018-12-01 - The Haw River Ballroom - Graham, NC *2019-05-19 - D&D Live 2019: The Descent - Los Angeles, CA *2019-07-20 - Union Transfer - Philadelphia, PA *2019-07-22 - Asbury Lanes - Asbury Park, NJ *2019-07-24 - Merge 30 - Carolina Theatre - Durham, NC * 2019-08-09 - College Street Music Hall - New Haven, CT *2019-08-10 - SummerStage - New York, NY *2019-08-16 - Music in the Mill - Hickory, NC *2019-08-28 - Metro Music Hall - Salt Lake City, UT *2019-08-29 - Pink Garter Theatre - Jackson, WY *2019-09-05 - Neumo's - Seattle, WA Videos of this Song *2009-11-10 - The Showbox - Seattle, WA *2013-06-16 - Space - Evanston, IL *2019-05-19 - D&D Live 2019: The Descent - Los Angeles, CA Category:The Life of the World to Come songs Category:Video